September 5, 1999

TECHNICAL BULLETIN — 007

The Per Unit System Overview

Overview
The per unit system is based on the formula shown in Equation (1).
actual quantity
(1) per unit =
base quantity

Using this method, all quantities are expressed as ratios of some base value or values. In many
respects the method is similar to the use of percentage values. When analyzing a real system, all
parameters such as voltage, current, power, and impedance can be converted to per unit. If the bases are
chosen wisely, the entire system may then be analyzed and the local results calculated.
In the following discussion the subscript pu will indicate a per unit value, the subscript B will
indicate a base value, and no subscript will indicate an actual value such as Amperes, Ohms, or Volts.

Fundamental Procedure
The per unit method can be described in five (5) basic steps:
1. Select the base(s) for your system.
2. Convert each known quantity (volts, amps, ohms, etc.) to per unit values.
3. Draw the system impedance diagram using the per unit values.
4. Perform the circuit analysis to determine the current magnitudes in per unit.
5. Convert the per unit currents and voltages from step 4 into Volts and Ohms.

Selection of Base Quantities

The most fundamental requirement of a per unit system is that all formulas and calculations must
provide correct answers. In other words, if it works in actual values, it must work in per unit.
Consequently the engineer must carefully select the base values so that they will satisfy the fundamental
laws of electricity, including Ohm’s law:

(2) VB = I B Z B

If Equation (2) is true, then Equation (3) is also true:

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 September 5, 1999

TECHNICAL BULLETIN — 007

The Per Unit System Overview

V IZ
(3) = ⇒ V pu = I pu Z pu
VB I B Z B

To satisfy this need, the base quantities should be selected using the rules given in Table 1.
After the base values have been selected or calculated, then the per unit values in the system can
be calculated using Equations (4), (5), and (6).

Z (Ohms )
(4) Z pu =
ZB

I ( Amperes )
(5) I pu =
IB

V (Volts )
(6) V pu =
VB

Table 1 Base selection criteria

Base Quantity Symbol How Selected

Select at random. 10,000 kVA or 100,000 kVA are commonly used; however, some
kVA kVAB equipment (e.g. transformers and generators) have their impedance expressed using
their nominal full load as the base.

Select the voltage at the location where equipment is located. For example, a cable
Volts kVB located in the 34.5 kV system would use 34.5 kV as its voltage base. See the
following discussion for more detail. Note that the line-to-line kV is used.

kVAB
Current IB IB =
kVLL × 3

kV B × 1000 kV B2 × 1000
Impedance ZB ZB = or Z B =
IB × 3 kVAB

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 September 5, 1999

TECHNICAL BULLETIN — 007

The Per Unit System Overview

Changing Bases
Occasionally the need arises to convert a per unit value to another base. For example, a
transformer nameplate per cent impedance is normally given using the transformer full load kVA as the
base. Thus the transformer Z must be converted to the kVAB being used in the study.
Equation (7) is the requirement for the conversion.
(7) Z = Z pu Z B = Z pu
old old new new
ZB
This can be re-arranged as:
Z Bold
(8)
new
Z pu = Z pu
old

Z Bnew

Substituting:
 ( kV old )2 × 1000 
 B

 kVAB old

(9)
new
Z pu = Z pu
old  
 ( kV ) × 1000 
new 2

 B

 kVAB new

 

Which reduces to:

2
 kVBold  kVABnew
(10) Z new
pu =Z old
pu  new  old
 kVB  kVAB

Note that the voltage terms in Equation (10) are used only when a device is being employed in a
voltage different from the base upon which it was calculated.

Other Useful Formulas

From the previous discussions we know that kVB = kVLL. On a single phase basis then:

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 September 5, 1999

TECHNICAL BULLETIN — 007

The Per Unit System Overview

VLL
(11) = IB ZB
3
and
VLL
(12) = I sc Z sc
3
Where the sc subscript indicates short circuit. If equation 11 is divided by equation 12 and terms are re-
arranged, we have:
I B Z sc
(13) =
I sc Z B

Since:
Z sc
(14) = Z pu
ZB

Then:
IB kVAB
(15) Z pu = and Z pu =
I sc kVAsc

Equation (16) can be developed from Figure 1

kVAB 1
(16) I sc = I pu =
3 × kV × Z pu Z pu

kVAB
I sc =
Two examples on the following 3 × kV × Z pu
pages will illustrate the use of the per unit
system. Figure 1 – Development of Equation (16)

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 September 5, 1999

TECHNICAL BULLETIN — 007

The Per Unit System Overview

Example #1. How is the maximum fault current (Isc) on the secondary side of the transformer in Figure
2 calculated.

kVAB 5000
IB = = = 209 Amperes
kVB × 3 13.8× 3

Figure 2 – Fault analysis assuming infinite utility source

Solution:
First we note that:
Z % 7.5
(17) Z pu = = = .075 pu
100 100
If we assume that the utility is an infinite source (e.g. has zero impedance) then the maximum current
will flow on the transformer secondary. Rewriting Equation 15 slightly gives
IB 209
(18) I sc = = = 2787 Amperes
Z pu .075

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 September 5, 1999

TECHNICAL BULLETIN — 007

The Per Unit System Overview

Example #2. How is the maximum fault current (Isc) on the secondary side of the transformer in Figure
3 calculated.

kVAB 5000
IB = = = 209 Amperes
kVB × 3 13.8× 3

Figure 3 Fault analysis assuming a non-infinite utility

Solution:
In this example, the utility has a maximum short circuit kVA of 200,000. This means that the utility has
an impedance which adds to the transformer impedance to further limit the fault current. If we start by
assuming a kVAB of 200,000 for the utility then Equation 15 gives:
kVAB 200, 000
(19) Z pu (Utility ) = = = 1 pu
kVAsc 200, 000

Next we need to convert the utility impedance to the transformer base using Equation 10
2
 kVBold  kVABnew 69 5000
Z new
pu =Z old
pu  new  old
= 1× × = .025 pu
 kVB  kVAB 69 200, 000

Note that the transformer base voltage is 69 kV since its per unit impedance is the same referenced to
either side. The total impedance limiting the short circuit is now the sum of the transformer plus the
utility. (We are ignoring phase angle differences in the interest of simplicity.)

Therefore, using Equation 16

kVAB 5000
(21) I sc = = = 2092 Amperes
3 × kV × Z pu 3 × 13.8 × (.075 + .025)

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